I would say that a lot of this hinges on how the Navy will operate embarked aviation. Traditionally, embarked aviation has been deployed as part of the ship's weapon system; as in parallel with gunnery and ASW. A Naval aviator has traditionally been a Naval Officer first and an aviator second. Indeed, many aviators gain watchkeeping and warfare qualifications and, in turn, command ships.
So what M M said earlier about a limited FAA career path beyond SO1 is true if an officer wishes to remain an aviator. There are opportunities to progress up the "Ship" command chain, though, beyond aviation.
The question is probably; is a Carrier a discreet entity, with its own supporting Task Group and aviation as part of its weapon fit or is it just a "taxi" for deployed aviation?